Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bay Area legends come together, January 31, 2000
By A Customer
Living in San Francisco, I have a tendency to become 'annoyed' at people who think that any time a member of the Grateful Dead creates or interprets GD music that they are 'not as good as the real thing' or 'no comparison to Jerry.' This CD captures what Phil Lesh has set out to do with his 'Friends' gigs. He brings together outstanding musicians who have been influenced by the Dead (who hasn't?), and attempts to walk through the doors that the GD opened for 30 years. Seeing Phil and Friends play the Greek in Berkeley or the Warfield (both homes of infamous Dead shows)does bring the magic of the Dead back like no other scene is capable. This CD captures moments from two nights at the Warfield in the summer of 99'. Three bay area legends are highlighted on this collection, with Phil in usual, excellent form, Jorma Kaukonen(Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane), and Steve Kimock (Zero, KVHW, and the Other Ones). CD 1 highlights include FOTD (Jorma still does this better than Jerry!), a scorching Mr. Charlie, and a nice Franklins to close. I will say that Phil's vocals on Broken Arrow are terrible. CD 2 is all Jorma and Kimock. The guitar work on this CD is in one word-beautiful. Kimock knows when to take his lead, and how to compliment fellow musicians and Jorma can always fire off perfectly arranged notes. Both offer this on CD 2. While the Mashed Potato Jam lacks direction, Kimock is a master of making us float in space awaiting this direction. This may be the last released Phil recording with his former right hand man Kimock (they parted ways mid-Dylan tour), but we can expect many more excellent musicians to interpret the spirit that created Dead. Thanks for what you are doing, Phil!
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth it, May 13, 2004
This is my favorite post Jerry Dead related offering, at least as far as commercial releases go. Phil, Steve Kimock, and Jorma, you just can't go wrong with that combo. There are some very uplifting musical moments here. Unless you're a big fan of Jorma you probably won't find the vocals to be very inspiring but to my ears they are not a distraction. The music here is good on its own merits but if you're expecting to hear the Grateful Dead, you might want to look elsewhere.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Point of Phil and Friends..., May 13, 2002
I don't think anyone should fault this band -- or any of the other incarnations of Phil and Friends -- for not sounding like GD. I think Phil's orginal intention was to keep this music alive by dropping it in the middle of different groups of players, just to see how it came out. There's no question that this version of the Friends has a lighter touch than the current one -- and that's not a question of good or bad, just different. This lineup -- with Jorma's vocals and Kimock's shimmering leads -- is absolutely the right one for tunes like "Good Shepard." And it does an outstanding job of interpreting (not re-creating) the GD tunes Phil chose to include.
The point, I think, was to use these tunes as a place to start. From there, the musicians choose the way. It doesn't sound like GD because of the people involved, just like these Friends don't sound like the current band does. That's the best endorsement of any version of Phil and Friends, live or on this release -- a bunch of talanted, like-minded musicians working over the good stuff. Big fun.
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